This invention relates to the field of surfboards. More specifically, it relates to a surfboard having improved strength-to-weight characteristics, and that includes removable foot retaining accessories that provide improved adhesion between the board and the user's feet.
The sport of surfing has undergone a number of changes over the years, with resulting changes in the style and construction of the surfboards themselves. For example, surfboards were originally constructed of wood, and had an overall length of about 8 feet (2.44m). These "long boards" eventually gave way to "short boards", that provided improved maneuverability and easier transportability, as compared to long boards. The short boards, about 6 feet (1.83m) in length, and formed of a fiberglass shell with a plastic foam core, have allowed surfers to perform ever more complex stunts, and have largely (although not completely) supplanted long boards.
As a general rule, the lighter the board, the more maneuverable it is. Nevertheless, the trade-off for reduced weight is generally reduced strength. Thus, with current materials, there are limits as to how thin (and thus how light) the boards can be. To keep the strength-to-weight characteristics of the short boards to acceptable levels, they are generally manufactured with a longitudinal stiffening member, or "stringer" down the center. The stringer, usually formed of a hard wood, provides the needed strength, but it also adds complexity and cost to the manufacturing process. Furthermore, the need for a stringer makes injection molding of the shell impractical. The core must first be formed with the stringer, and then the shell must be fabricated around the core, a laborious, expensive, and time-consuming process.
Even with shorter lengths and lighter weights, there are limits to the maneuverability of surfboards, due to the tendency, in certain stunts, for the user's feet to lose their grip on the board. One proposed solution to this problem, suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,082 to Cox and U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,466 to Ellis, is to provide a foot piece (such as a boot or slipper) and a portion of the board's surface with interlocking fibrous hook-and-loop fasteners, of the type marketed under the trademark VELCRO. These proposed solutions, however, are themselves subject to certain disadvantages.
For example, the fibrous hook-and-loop material absorbs and retains water. This can lead to eventual deterioration of the material. Furthermore, the hook-and-loop material provides a rough surface on the board, leading to irritation of the surfer's skin when he or she lies prone on the board to paddle it. In addition, the hook-and-loop material in these prior art devices is permanently attached to the board's surface, thereby making barefoot surfing quite uncomfortable, due to the chafing of the material against the skin. It is also noted that the hook-and-loop material in the Ellis apparatus is specially designed to restrain horizontal movement only, and does not restrain vertical movement.
Thus, there is an unmet need in the surfboard art for a light-weight, highly maneuverable board that has good strength-to-weight characteristics, without the need for a stringer. There is also an unmet need for a surfboard construction that allows for greater adhesion between the surfer's foot and the board's surface, but which can withstand repeated and prolonged exposure to salt water, and which allows skin contact with the board without irritation or undue discomfort.